List of people from Grand Forks, North Dakota explained

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Arts and entertainment

• Liz Anderson (1927–2011), country singer; grew up in Grand Forks
• Lynn Anderson (1947–2015), country singer; born in Grand Forks
• Maxwell Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter, lyricist
• Tom Brosseau, singer and songwriter, folk guitarist
• Tony Fontane, gospel singer
• Joel Harlow, Academy Award-winning makeup effects artist
• Kam Heskin, actress
• Ezra Kire, guitarist for Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack
• Nicole Linkletter, winner of the 5th Cycle of America's Next Top Model
• Stuart McDonald, former editorial cartoonist, Grand Forks Herald
• Dickie Peterson, founding member of heavy metal rock band Blue Cheer ("Summertime Blues")
• Alan Ritchson, actor, singer, model
• James Rosenquist, artist
• Richard St. Clair, classical composer
• Margaret Strobel, academic
• Corin Tucker, singer songwriter in Sleator-Kinney
• Natalie West, actress, Roseanne

Business

• Greg Brockman, co-founder, chairman, and President of OpenAI
• Thomas D. Campbell, 1928 Time Magazine "Man of the Year," and largest U.S. farmer at the time
• Ralph Engelstad, Las Vegas casino owner, philanthropist
• Andrew Freeman, invented the block heater; manager of Minnkota Power Cooperative
• Sally J. Smith, president and CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings

Law, politics, and government

• Rick Clayburgh, North Dakota Tax Commissioner
• Ronald Davies, federal judge, ordered the integration of Little Rock Central High School
• Jerry Gaetz, North Dakota state senator
• Jon Godfread, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner
• James D. Gronna, North Dakota Secretary of State
• Gary Johnson, state congressman for Wisconsin
• Howard A. Knutson, Minnesota state legislator and lawyer
• Walter Maddock, 15th governor of North Dakota
• Leonard Peltier, American Indian activist; convicted of murder in the deaths of two FBI agents
• Dale V. Sandstrom, justice on the North Dakota Supreme Court
• Arthur G. Sorlie, 14th governor of North Dakota

Literature and journalism

• James M. Edie, philosopher
• Marilyn Hagerty, author and writer for the Grand Forks Herald
• Al McIntosh, newspaper editor, columns were featured in The War
• Jennie Shortridge, novelist
• Edward Kramer Thompson, editor of Life
• Era Bell Thompson, editor of Ebony^[1]
• George H. Walsh, newspaper editor, publisher, founding role with the University of North Dakota
• Walter Wangerin, Jr., author of religious novels and children's books

Military

• Charles W. Lindberg, Marine, part of the first raising the flag on Iwo Jima

Science

• Mancur Olson, economist, social scientist

Sports

• Brooks Bollinger, American football player
• T. J. Frier, American football player
• Andrew Hampsten, champion cyclist
• Virgil Hill, boxer, Olympic silver medalist (1984)
• Ken Hunt, Major League Baseball outfielder
• Tim Johnson, Major League Baseball player and manager
• Tyler Johnson, basketball player with the NBL's Brisbane Bullets
• Jocelyne Lamoureux, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
• Monique Lamoureux, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
• Roger Maris, right fielder with the New York Yankees, hit record-breaking 61 home runs in 1961
• Doug McDermott, basketball player with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs
• Lute Olson, NCAA Champion college basketball coach of Arizona Wildcats
• Tim Olson, baseball player with the Colorado Rockies
• Ryan Potulny, assistant coach for the University of Minnesota men's ice hockey
• Cliff Purpur, first North Dakota native to become an NHL player
• Andy Schneider, defenseman with the Adler Mannheim
• Andrew Towne, member of the team that completed the first human-powered transit of the Drake Passage

See also

• List of University of North Dakota people

Notes and References

1. News: Era Bell Thompson, 80, Dies; Novelist and Editor at Ebony. New York Times. 3 January 1987. 8. 3 September 2020.